Biomechanical Energy Harvester Is The Bee's Knees

A Biomechanical energy harvesting device consisting of an aluminum chassis and a generator disguised as a knee brace provide enough power to run your iPhone - and the rest of your mobile stuff. Volunteer testers generated about five watts dynamically as they walked.

Science fiction fans know all about such devices; others must listen to this guy:

"Since muscles are the powerhouses of the body, my colleagues and I designed our device to generate electricity from the motion of the knee joint," said Max Donelan, director of the Locomotion Laboratory at Simon Fraser University in Canada. "It resembles a knee brace and weighs about 1.5 kilograms [3.3 pounds] including the gearing and generator."